Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
6 M3 K9 n% ^7 w! EVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
, f6 u! @- n" ?) }; d
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
" y2 P7 i/ g9 {2 w
Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
  B6 k8 K: n1 z3 o' R8 O7 L
That's when the apartment vacancy rate in Edmonton is forecasted to dip below the current 1% - making it that much harder for already frustrated renters to find a place to live.
6 j! O9 u- P  M) K0 B
( J- ?  v7 P% o$ D7 n. X: m, Z* j"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

, g7 {- t; s8 z' rSIX MONTHS LOOKING
4 C9 w. n& I6 x1 T1 k
2 C5 }; R# ?" |! O0 s, M. gJasmine said she's already spent more than six months trying to find a decent place for her and her fiance to rent with no luck.

, K  u: ^; f2 u, }1 D; H  
5 R" V5 b% {  t
For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
, w2 e6 n2 }2 {1 T" F
They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
6 a7 D9 a& N0 N0 b+ T% M2 Z
6 }# M6 m5 |! }: e' ?5 x"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
' f9 I1 K8 q8 B  L( ~
9 z; D8 A: [- V' {According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
: {% f! s. N2 R9 n) Q2 r2 J$ b; X
& M7 y0 n2 [" D- T# T, l% y! U8 wThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.
/ ^8 r1 w( o- _3 S" f  q
; |& {! `. Z0 E. |' uA limited supply of new rental buildings is keeping the market tight, according to the CMHC's outlook for Edmonton, released this week. Apartments being converted into condos is further keeping a stranglehold on renters.

Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

, T( S6 F- E) ]9 ~. o; y( m"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

8 v5 _  j1 N1 t8 e. @" H8 W2 `  NMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
" w; ]' C$ h3 F
$ I& |4 d9 Z5 ~) g* k3 I3 }Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

With a growing inventory, high prices, and wary buyers, houses can be on the market for months. The CMHC predicts listing periods will get even longer in the new year.
  ?! @) z9 r) t% ]0 }
' w8 I7 @3 @+ j0 ?( Z7 S"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
& K* U" o( Y) i' P$ ?; C& p
"Shoppers are shopping around a lot more now. They're taking their time. I have had one couple who have come in four times now, but they're not in any rush to make an offer."
) f3 U, O+ U7 b
Originally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

) j% |- B$ @* B9 }: I$ a- sSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
- ^5 q( ]% I# m  e) C
INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
4 M* U& f* K( R/ [1 U! a4 i
' B1 T7 U. e% k8 }: `! ]. W"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

The Edmonton Real Estate Board recently reported the average single-family home in Edmonton sold for $399,555 in September, down 1% from the previous month.

水管工

现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
% N/ z" p2 p9 O' J! J( z* U$ c没房的, 房租在上涨.

YOKO

I wondered that how much the rental would be going up for just two bedroom apartment next year???

人生几何

原帖由 水管工 于 2007-11-5 09:42 发表
; B! v* l0 ?! m& x+ V; b% }9 T现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
  f' S& T9 a6 h3 ~3 _5 W9 h没房的, 房租在上涨.

  Q/ a) F) {% ]( }待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!